Belarus/Dubai trip 2023 Archives

Belarus/Dubai trip 2023 Europe United Kingdom

My Perfect London Layover

The Layover

I was flying home to Vancouver from Minsk via Dubai and I had an 11 hour layover in London. I had 8 hour layover in London on the way to Minsk and it was great (it had been Coronation Day). In fact, every long layover I’ve had in London is great, but somehow this managed to top them all. Every time I have a layover in London I try to pick a new area that I want to visit; a place that seems lovely to wander for a few hours (of course sometimes I just make my way over to Saint James Street and hole up in a cigar lounge). This time, it was a Sunday morning and I decided head to East London.

Breakfast in Hoxton

I started by taking the Heathrow Express to Paddington Station and then switching to the Tube where I made my way over to Old Street station in Hoxton with a plan to walk to Shoreditch. I hadn’t been over that part of east London and many many years, not since I lived in London, but I heard that it was kind of the cool neighborhood to check out so I thought I would.

The neighborhood was great. Most things were closed (it was early) but it already felt cool. The buildings were old, the parks were nice, there was there was public art of the mural and sculpture variety, and I was impressed.

quiet morning street art

I was more impressed when I found a restaurant that was open. The Breakfast Club. I would definitely go back. It was exactly what I wanted. Great music, comfy booths, vegan options, and mugfuls of strong, black coffee. I think the people in there thought I was crazy because I kept telling them how excited I was to find them open and with vegan breakfast.

The Breakfast Club

My stomach full of coffee and tofu, I carried on walking towards the Columbia Road flower market. On the way I stopped for an espresso.

more coffee!

Flower Market

I had never even heard of the Columbia Road flower market. I just started Googling things to do on a Sunday morning in London and I discovered it and it’s now one of the loveliest things that I’ve ever found to do on a Sunday morning. It’s just a stretch of street where every Sunday flower merchants come out to sell their flowers.

It sounds like something that might just be made-up for Instagram, but there are legitimately people there buying plants and flowers and then carting them away. Flower merchants are calling out in delightful accents the price and variety of their flowers. It is so charming – even better, many people there have cute dogs with them, and that’s great.

“The flower that smiles to-day, to-morrow dies…“

The thing that made it extra lovely is that while one side of the street is all flower merchants, the other side of the street are delightful shops painted in pretty colours and it reminded me a little bit of Victoria street in Edinburgh (except without the slope). There are antique shops, coffee shops, trinket shops, bakeries, a tea room, and a perfumer… it’s so charming. I browsed in all the shops, bought myself a little bit of perfume, ate a tiny treat, and carried on my way. It was absolutely perfect.

charming shopfronts

Spitalfields

From there I walked down to Spitalfields to the Old Spitalfields Market – like I hadn’t had enough to eat already, but I wanted it as a destination. It was a grand walk. The skies were blue it was warming up. I browsed around the Spitalfields market, a place I don’t know if I’d ever been to before.

I had an excellent coffee, and I really enjoyed the public art that they had there – the cute elephant statues (Our Herd of Hope) and the sculpture of Rabbitwoman and Dogman riding a motorbike with side car whilst drinking coffee (telling the tale of “two opposites coming together to become best friends and soul mates”).

Elephants, rabbit, and dog, oh my!

Walking south I found myself wandering through a blocks’ long thrift market.

Bypassing The Tower

I walked towards the Tower of London, not because I wanted to go to the Tower of London; it just seemed like a destination. The closer I got to the Tower of London, the livelier things got: the crowds of tourists picked up, church bells were ringing, more shops were open.

I got glimpses of the London skyline along the way. It was perfect. I wound my way past the tourists queuing up for the Tower of London and headed for London Bridge.

Borough Market & The Tate

Tower Bridge, the Thames, and the Shard

Crossing London Bridge, I got some lovely views and once on the other side, I was just steps from Borough Market (London’s best food market, dating back hundreds of years).

Approaching Borough Market

I walked through Borough Market, unfortunately at this point, having eaten the tofu and a couple of treats from the Columbia Street flower market, I couldn’t possibly eat any more, but I did get a lovely fresh carrot and ginger juice and another espresso and walked around the market, just ogling all of the treats. (Note to self: I must make a plan to come back when I am hungry.)

Exiting Borough Market, I then found myself near the Tate Modern gallery.

While some of the special exhibits are paid, to walk into the Tate and look at the regular collections is free, so I did that. I walked around, looked at some art (splendid), and then I left. I realized that I really ought to be moving on because I had a lunch date.

Lunch & Leaving London

I have a friend who lives in London, someone that I met in 2009 in the Ecuadorian rainforest and, while we sort of keep in touch, we haven’t really seen each other in years, so we made plans to have lunch. We met near Paddington Station, in Little Venice where we had an excellent lunch at a Lebanese restaurant and swapped travel stories.

Seriously, was this the perfect day? Throw a cigar and a visit to the theatre and I think it might have been. It’s amazing what you can do in a layover. I can’t believe some people just stay at the airport.

I flew back to Vancouver, and this concluded my trip to Minsk, which parenthetically also included two days in London and two days in Dubai. It was just an excellent trip maybe the best that I had in 2023 to date.

I would have a short hiatus from travel of a couple of months to enjoy the summer in Vancouver, and then I would be off to Brazil.

Asia Belarus/Dubai trip 2023 United Arab Emirates

Dubai Layover Part 2: Giving Dubai Another Try

I was flying back to Vancouver from Minsk and, due to the war in Ukraine and the sanctions that other countries had against Belarus, I couldn’t fly home through Europe, so my flight was taking me from Minsk to Dubai then to London and on to Vancouver. I was happy about this because it gave me an opportunity to visit Dubai, which I had never seen prior to this trip. On the way to Minsk, I had spent a shorter layover in Dubai and I had gotten out to see the city and I was largely underwhelmed. This time, I had a longer layover, and I was going to give it another shot.

I took the train from the airport into Dubai (again, super easy), but unlike last time I didn’t have to leave my bag at the airport because I had booked myself a hotel room. In truth, the layover wasn’t long enough that I was actually going to spend the night in Dubai; I was arriving early in the morning and I was leaving late at night, so it was really one long day layover, but I wanted to have a hotel room so that I could have a shower and a nap, if need be, before I went back to the airport. Fortunately, there are affordable accommodations in Dubai and the place that I stayed at, the Arabian Courtyard Hotel, was a great bargain and within walking distance to all the sites in the old Dubai historic centre. Also, it was nice; old, but atmospheric, and they upgraded my room (how could I say no?) and it was impressive.

Arabian Courtyard Hotel: My room and view

So, I started my trip there. I walked through the old Dubai historic area past some of the places that I had seen before; past the souq, which was just opening up, and along the river.

Old Dubai flowers

the Souq

I went to a café that was incredibly charming, right on the water, and had a wonderful healthy breakfast watching the boats go back and forth to the other side.

café along the river

And that’s what I did after breakfast: I hopped on one of the boats called abras and took it to the other side of the river it cost 1 Dirham (maybe 30c US) and see they seem to run constantly back and forth. It was all locals on the boat save for me. It seems to be the easiest and most practical way of getting across. On the other side there’s sort of a fancy souq and I wandered around there looking at the spices and textiles and whatnot.

crossing the river

river views

I did actually end up buying myself a black abaya with little black sparkles on it because it’s something that I had been wanting for future trips. I had a chat with the boy who was selling it (and I say boy because he said he was 16); he was a refugee from Afghanistan. A lovely kid and such a good salesman. I couldn’t help but think about what it would be like to be a refugee, but also to be refugee as a child in a foreign country and working to support yourself. Heartbreaking. (Of course, maybe it was all just a scam so that I would buy from him. I guess I’ll never know. And it really doesn’t matter because there are lots of kids who are in that situation.)

Getting beyond the souq, there’s an area full of local shops and apartments and mosques. It feels nothing like the modern part of Dubai with its shiny skyscrapers; it’s just regular buildings, regular streets, regular cafés, and regular people going about their business. It wasn’t beautiful, but I liked it so much more than shiny new Dubai.

It also it’s very multicultural. Walking around, there are stores and restaurants from places all over Africa and the Middle East and Asia. Things like Ethiopian coffee shops and Yemeni restaurants and Indian stores.

I stopped and had a simple lunch of chana dahl and chai before I carried on walking. It was very hot outside, but beautiful.

I eventually made my way back down to the river and took the boat back across. I had some shisha and juice. From there, I decided it was time to give shiny new Dubai a second try.

I got back on the metro and took and took it to the Dubai Mall stop. The Dubai Mall had bested me on my first layover. I walked in, and I got irritated and confused, and I turned around and left. But this time, I would be successful. I walked down the stupid habitrail that goes on forever from the subway stop and into the Dubai Mall and, from there, I followed the signs to the “Dubai Foutain”. It was a nightmare; I don’t like malls and this was a big bloated mall with nothing terribly remarkable in its shops wise. “Hey, look! It’s all the stores that you hate in your country, but all collected under one roof!”

The only interesting thing was, yes, there was an aquarium and, no, I didn’t pay money to go into it, but I could I did walk by, and I saw sharks and manta rays and that was kind of cool. And the Dubai Waterfall with the multiple statues of men diving (or committing suicide?) is really quite attractive.

Finally, I made my way outside, walking past a Tim Horton’s (seriously) and some other disgusting fast food chains, I emerged from the Mall. I rubbed my eyes, and there it was, glimmering and tall, the Burj Khalifa.

The Burj Khalifa is (for now, and since 2009) the world’s tallest building. It is 829.8 m (2,722 feet) tall. You can pay money to go up into it and see the view from the observation deck and do various activities, but I decided I wasn’t interested in that; I just wanted to see it. And now I have, and you know what? It’s impressive. It’s tall and pointy like an ice pick and it glitters silver. It’s something to see, but maybe not something to behold for very long.

What was more of a spectacle was all of the people crowded around taking pictures. It was really busy. I got into a small altercation with some guy when I did not take him up on his offer to take my photo when I was trying to take a selfie. Seriously, if was nice of him to offer, but I said “No, thanks.” That should have been the end of it. And that was when I was called a “bitch” in Dubai. Ah, memories.

Crowds

And the whole area is, well, a little strange. It’s very impressive. All the buildings are new and fancy and there’s a lagoon and fountains and bridges and restaurants, and there’s this delicate sort of Arabian music playing subtly in the background. It feels like you’ve stepped into some sort of modern Arabian Disneyland. I felt the same way a little bit when I was in Doha. It also could have been in South Florida, like if South Florida had built some Arabian themed subdivision and mall, it would probably look like this.

*Shiny, New Dubai around the Dubai Fountains*

But it was nice enough, so I found myself a table on a restaurant patio on the water but just out of view of the Burj Khalifa (because honestly it’s nice but I don’t need to sit and stare at it) and I sat down to have lunch and shisha. It was lovely. The shisha and food were excellent, and I got to carry on and hear and see some the buzz of the neighborhood. The buzz intensified when the fountains started in the pool just in front of the Burj Khalifa. It’s one of those dancing fountain things where music plays and fountains go on and fan around in different ways. I’ve seen this in Vegas and in Shanghai and I don’t really understand the fascination.

It was a pleasant place to spend some time. When I was finished, I walked back through the Mall. I stopped at Sephora to replace my eyeliner that had been drying out (ok maybe malls aren’t all bad) and then I took the train back to my hotel.

I had a shower and a bit of a nap at which point it was dark and I walked around Old Dubai for a little bit, doing nothing in particular before I went back to the airport and caught my flight to London.

I enjoyed this layover much more than my first one in Dubai, although I have to say my impression is: Dubai is not really my thing. Old Dubai is fine, but it’s not as lovely or interesting as the old city centres and souqs that I’ve been to in other ‘Middle Eastern’ cities, and new Dubai just isn’t my thing at all; it’s too car-centric, too sterile…it’s just not for me. But I’m glad that I saw it. That’s the great thing about the long layover: you can have a taste of a place and decide whether or not you want to come back and see more. In this case, I’m satisfied.

I was onward to London where I would have another long layover in my favourite city before returning home to Vancouver.

Belarus Belarus/Dubai trip 2023 Europe

Farewell, Minsk

I had one day left in Minsk. I had already seen basically everything I thought that I could see and yet there was still more. I had a quick breakfast at my hostel and then went out for a walk. I walked along the banks of the river to the National Museum (full name: “The Belarusian State Museum of the History of the Great Patriotic War”).

I think one could give the National Museum a miss; it’s not amazing but it is interesting and I did learn a lot about the history of the country.

State Museum of Belarus

From there I walked up to the Komarovskiy Market, the largest market in Minsk. On the way, I had coffee at about three different neighbourhood cafes, each one very charming; some with books, some with dogs, all with great coffee.

Cafés in Minsk

The market was enjoyable; very similar to markets that I’ve visited and other former Soviet countries. Lots of breads, dumplings, pickled items, and fruits and vegetables. Also a ton of local honey. It is a great place to try some local food. I snacked on some delicious fruits and baked goods and then made my way over to a new museum.

Komarovskiy Market

I visited the Memorial Museum-Studio of Z. Azgur. Zair Azgur was a Belarusian sculptor, active from the 1920s to the 1950s, famous for sculpting hundreds of busts of Belarusian and Soviet military and political figures. His studio is now a museum. It holds over 4000 items, not all of which are on display at one time, but for travellers, it’s most interesting because of the sheer number of statues of Lenin and Marx and Stalin on display. It’s increasingly rare to see such depictions.

When I first entered the museum, I entered a small room with a number of busts. Quite impressive. I took a lot of photos and found it interesting. Then I was led to upstairs to a larger room, which had me gasp when I entered it. A huge room stacked floor to ceiling with busts of Soviet figures. It’s lit beautifully and very interesting to walk around. In the centre of the room is an impressive figure of Lenin striding forward, his coat waving up behind him, as well as a very serious statue of Stalin sitting in in a chair, and an enormous bust of Lenin’s head that was nearly as tall as I am. It was super cool and I think it should be on everyone’s list for Minsk.

Room No.1

Double Lenin

In the afternoon, I just wandered around the city a little bit more, had a short nap at my hostel, and in the evening I went to the opera. The opera house (full name: “The National Academic Grand Opera and Ballet Theatre of the Republic of Belarus”), was just a block from my hostel in the middle of a park. A stunning white building built in the 1930s and designed by Iosif Langbar.

*The National Academic Grand Opera and Ballet Theatre of the Republic of Belarus*

I’ve discovered that going to the opera at any former Soviet country is a great idea, because the opera houses are beautiful the shows are excellent, and the tickets are ridiculously cheap. They were showing Die Fledermaus at the opera and I picked up a ticket for less than $10 Canadian. The show was sung in German with Belarusian and Russian sur titles so it wasn’t the easiest of shows to follow along with, but I had a great time.

In the evening I walked around Minsk a little more, had a cigar of course, and went to bed early for my extremely early flight.

More Minsk buildings that I liked

I absolutely loved my time in Belarus. For me, it was kind of a leisurely trip. I had several days in the capital and my day in the countryside, and I never felt that I ran out of things to do. It’s a place that I would consider going back to in order to see more of the country. I don’t know if it was less touristy because of the ongoing war in Ukraine, or simply because it’s Belarus, but it didn’t feel at all touristy. It felt entirely authentic, and I liked it.

And so, it was onward to Dubai for another long layover, a long layover in London and then back home.

Belarus Belarus/Dubai trip 2023 Europe

Minsk: Two Churches and A Library

The day after my excellent day trip outside of Minsk I was back in the city and decided to build a day around visiting the National Library. The Belarus National Library is extraordinary and unique. It is this very futuristic design, built in 2006 in the share of a rhombicuboctahedron. (that’s right. Look it up.) It has 26 sides. It looks like something that should be flying in space or used as a die in a role-playing game. it’s imposing, intimidating and beautiful, in its own way. At night it’s lit up in a variety of colours. (The library is also notable to me because it was featured in a music video for the Belarusian band Molchat Doma, a band I really like.)

It was a short metro stop from central Minsk and gave me opportunity to visit yet more attractive subway stations. From the library I crossed the street and wandered by some Soviet apartment block buildings that had on the sides of them really cool mid-century mosaics of Soviet life and achievement. There were astronauts and farmers and Olympians. The tall apartment blocks still lived in.

I walked past trees in blossom and beautiful wildflowers everywhere on my way to see the Church of All Saints.

I didn’t see the Church of All Saints listed in many “what to see guides” and for Minsk, which is bananas because it’s stunning. It’s a newer church, gleaming white and gold. From the outside it is absolutely beautiful, and it is equally stunning from the inside. I took about a million photos from different angles.

Church of All Saints

In the basement of the church is the crypt; it’s quite attractive but what’s mostly notable about it is that the walls of it are lined with small square cubbyholes with amber coloured translucent windows on them. Inside of them are the ashes or remains of people killed – mostly unidentified and mostly soldiers. It gives the crypt beautiful glow. Of course, my twisted brain also thought it a little like a beautiful and morbid automat.

What I didn’t know prior to arriving, was the right next to the church of all saints Is another church, the Holy Trinity Church. While the Church of All Saints is white and gleaming, the Holy Trinity Church is black and sinister looking. I couldn’t find out a lot of information about it. I don’t know when it was built, but I do know that it’s made entirely of logs like a log cabin. It is cozy on the inside with a log cabiny feeling. The two churches are worth a visit.

Holy Trinity Church

From the churches I decided to walk back to central Minsk. It was a long walk but took me past a lovely cemetery that I walked through and looked at the various headstones and their designs.

It was a pleasant and leisurely day in Minsk and of course I ended the day by having a cigar and a cocktail (ok, two) on the patio of a Lebanese restaurant.

I had one day ahead of me in Minsk and had plans to see the opera and a whole lot more of Lenin.

*pedestrian street in central Minsk at night*

Belarus Belarus/Dubai trip 2023 Europe

Minsk Metro

A whole post devoted to metro stations probably isn’t warranted, except that Minsk’s Metro stations are beautiful. The Soviet Union placed great value on public transportation and, generally, made their metro stations lovely rather than merely functional. The most beautiful I have seen are in Russia, but other former USSR ones I’ve seen have been impressive. Minsk’s were no exception.

Minsk’s Metro only has three lines but has stops that can be useful for a visitor, such as for visiting the architecturally amazing library. For the most part, Minsk’s sights are walkable, but I wanted to see some of the stations. I didn’t visit all, but on my final day or two in Minsk, when I had seen much of ‘the sights’ I made a point of popping into a few stations to check them out.

The Metro is incredibly cheap – only less than $0.50 per ride – and when you pay, you get a neat little plastic token to enter.

Some of the stations have beautiful lighting and columns; others have interesting design on the walls of the tunnels in the stations. The best ones are those that still have their Soviet insignia intact.

You’re not officially allowed to take photos of the stations, but if no one sees you doing it, it’s no problem.

Like many Russian and Ukrainian stations, some had little shops in the tunnels leading to the stations, selling delicious baked goods.

Others had monuments and memorials. Of the latter, the most notable is at Nyamiha metro station, where, outside, there is a monument to the victims of the Nyamiha stampede where 53 people were crushed and trampled to death after people crushed into the stations during a sudden rainstorm.

Nyamiha stampede memorial

The possibility of sudden death aside, it’s worth visiting the Minsk Metro, whether you need to take it or not; to see the decoration and just to participate in a bit of everyday life in modern Minsk.

More subway memorials. The one on the right is for WW2. The one on the left is for a 1905 shooting, i think.

Belarus Belarus/Dubai trip 2023 Europe

Castles Mir & Nesvizh: A Day Trip from Minsk

As much as I loved Minsk, I didn’t want to stay there during my entire visit. I wanted to spend a day visiting two UNESCO heritage castles: Mir and Nesvizh. If you have a car, it makes a perfect day trip. But not having a car, I looked at the options for bus and train; it was technically possible to see both in a day travelling that way, but looked rushed and stressful, with a strong likelihood of missing connections, so I decided to hire a car. There weren’t a lot of people offering this service, but I found a company online, messaged them the night before I wanted to leave, and they picked me up the next morning. (Minsk Airport Transfer & Tours)

Roadtrip!

This was one of those days where the hiring of a guide/driver was much more than just transport. I had a great day with Sergey. A kind and interesting man who was fun to hang out with. He even does his own version of ‘carpool karaoke’ with guests.

*Me and Sergey, in our ‘buddy cop’ movie pose*

Nesvizh

We drove first to Nesvizh (aka Nyasvizh, or Нясвіж, or Несвиж) a small town (population ~15,000), which is famous for its castle by the same name: Nesvizh Castle, a lovely castle built in the 16^th and 17^th centuries and surrounded by a pretty forest. It even has a moat. What more do you want from a castle? Dragons?

Sergey waited outside while I wandered the halls, and then we walked through the forest together.

Nesvizh Castle, inside and out

We made a stop at the Corpus Christi Church in Nesvizh, from the 16^th century.

Corpus Christi Church, Nesvizh

Before we left Nesvizh, Sergey offered me hydration in the form of Byarozavik (бярозавы сок in Belarusian), birch tree sap. It was clear and mild tasting; unsweetened, but slightly sweet tasting. Kind of like coconut water, but not disgusting. I liked it.

Village Life

We drove through the pretty countryside, and I was ogling the villages, so Sergey took us to one (the benefit of having a private driver). I believe it was called Vishnevets, though I can’t find it on a map. It was just so charming. Almost entirely residential, with small dacha type houses; small, with peaked roofs, but they were mostly painted yellows and greens. The landscape was all gardens and farms, very green, storks’ nests on tall poles. This was time number in don’t know how many that I had a fantasy about packing it all up and moving there. I know I would be bored after a weekend, but it was just so lovely.

We stopped nearby at a well by the side of the road and drank cool, clean water that Sergey hoisted up on a rope.

We carried on to Mir.

Mir

Mir is a village of about 2,500 people. It has a turbulent history, having been attacked and/or occupied and/or taken over by Sweden, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Russians, and the Nazis (the latter of which killed off the town’s once thriving Jewish and Roma populations). Today, Mir is famous for its late Gothic, 16^th century castle.

Mir Castle inside and out

Mir castle is not as nice inside as Nesvizh, but is impressive, and the views from across the small river are lovely.

We had lunch at a nearby restaurant and I had some delicious soup and potato pancakes with mushrooms. (The vegetarian food in Minsk is not varied, but it is delicious.)

We drove back to Minsk, singing to Phantom of the Opera and My Way (some of Sergey’s favourites – and I can never resist a show or Sinatra tune) and talking about life in Belarus.

road signs

It was an excellent day; made much more fun by having company for the day and getting insights and info I would not have gotten on my own.

I really would like to see more of rural Belarus, but I also wanted to spend more time in Minsk, so I went back to my hostel and made plans for what to see the next day.

Belarus Belarus/Dubai trip 2023 Europe

Pomp & Propaganda: Victory Day in Minsk

As the man at immigration at the airport was kind enough to remind me, my trip to Minsk overlapped with Victory Day. This was not intentional, but I am so glad it worked out this way. Victory Day in Russia many years ago was fine – lots of parades – but this was a whole experience.

Victory Day is, of course, the anniversary of the day (9 May 1945) that the Soviets defeated the Nazis in WW2, and it remains a point of great pride. I have been told that Victory Day celebrations have become more of a celebration in recent years, as Belarus and Russia have gotten closer. I can neither confirm nor deny this, but I can say that experiencing this spectacle is to feel transported to the feeling of being in the Soviet Union in the good times. I loved it. Apparently I am easily influenced by rousing anthems in foreign languages. I have not defected, but I did have a great time.

On Victory Day eve, I was out at night looking for a place to have a cigar and found that there was a stage set up in a square on Independence Avenue a crowd of people watching. I wandered over to have a look and ended up standing there for an hour. On the stage was a series of music and dance performances, each celebrating Belarus. Young women in traditional costumes danced in front of videos of wheat fields accompanied by gentle ballads. Powerful torch song were sung while soldiers and their lady loves danced and played out silent dramas of relationships torn apart by noble wars. Choruses of children sang in front of waving flags. The best though were the lively songs where men, dressed as army and navy men danced acrobatically: high kicking, and doing that traditional Russian dance where the men cross their arms and get low to the ground, while kicking out their legs. (Like the move John Travolta pulled off in Saturday Night Fever.) Flips, endless twirls, and tight choreography. It was excellent.

But that was just a taste of what was to come. The next day there was a procession to Victory Square, where people gathered. Powerful Soviet anthems played. People waved red flags – some with the hammer and sickle. Some people sombrely carried placards with pictures of Lenin and Stalin on them. People carried photos of their relatives who had fought and died in wars. A couple of ancient, thin men walked with help through the crowd, wearing old army uniforms, dripping with medals. Everyone wanted pictures with them. It was so showy, so affecting, that I started to wonder if it was real. I mean, it certainly might have been, but also, could some of these flag wavers and portrait bearers be government actors and the whole thing designed to rally patriotism and militarism? With the Russian/Ukrainian war just to the south, it seemed possible, but I can’t say.

I felt energetic from the song and the false feeling of camaraderie. I had my photo taken with a soldier and a little girl in soldier costume. I pinned a ribbon to my jacket. I took a ton of photos.

After a while though, as the crowds grew, I decided it would be prudent to get away from the spectacle. Soldiers were starting to close off streets and I noticed a lot of plain clothed police or security guys posted around the square who weren’t there before. I thought maybe the president was about the make an appearance and I didn’t want to get fenced in, so I took off, through a park where the merriment continued, and then just away altogether, to an art gallery and café.

The President did come, but earlier in the day; nothing of any concern happened, but I always think it’s good not to me in the middle of any big, politically charged crowd, even if the music is great.

I hadn’t planned it, but the Victory Day celebrations were a highlight of my time in Minsk. I do think it is largely propaganda, but well done; and I left before I enlisted for anything, so I just got to feel like I time traveled to the 1940s and then carried on in the present day.

I ended the day bar at my new favourite bar in Minsk, with a cigar and the company of people who cared more for whisky than war.

On my way back to my hostel I caught the fireworks from a bridge.

The next day I would leave all of this behind to see some countryside and castles.

Belarus Belarus/Dubai trip 2023 Europe

Minsk’s Murals

One of the things that I love about any city is discovering street art. I like art, of course, but I like street art not just for the content of the art but for where it is found. I love a large piece on the side of a building, or a neighbourhood taken over by colorful murals. I even like collections of unrestrained graffiti. It’s a great way to see a city; to go off in search of murals in rougher or burgeoning neighbourhoods and to see places I might not have otherwise seen. And it’s free.

Minsk was not a place to see street art. For a long time, it was not a part of the landscape; either because there was a lack of street at culture or because the government didn’t allow it. Probably both. There is an excellent NY Times article about street art in Minsk; street art as political protest and the government’s aggressive tactics to shut it down and erase it. As I discussed in a previous post about Belarus, the government is … strict, so I didn’t discuss it much with anyone and I am not in a position to explain the history of street art as political protest, but it seems to be an issue.

That it is why it was such a big deal when in 2014 the areas around Oktyabrskaya Street (now officially Kastryčnickaja Street) became a veritable outdoor gallery after the Brazilian embassy in Minsky organized a street art festival (Vulica Brazil).

With art by artists from mostly Brazil and Belarus, this formerly industrial zone, is not covered with enormous, colorful murals. There is not one uniform style or theme, which makes it even better for discovery. And it is no longer just an industrial area; not there are cafes, restaurants, and bars. It is a properly, cool neighbourhood.

It is a short walk just off the main sights in central Minsk and is a great way to spend an afternoon or a couple of hours. None of the art seems political; it is fanciful and whimsical or paying homage to artists, writers, and thinkers. It’s an area that I did not even see listed in the guidebooks for Minsk and is something I found specifically by googling “street art” in Minsk. Definitely a cultural highlight in the city.

I saw these Murals on my first day in Minsk as part of an overall, self-directed walking exploration of the city

I know. It’s a short post, but I have So Many Pictures from Minsk that I had to break them up.

Belarus Belarus/Dubai trip 2023 Europe

Marvelous Minsk: KGB to KFC

Following my prolonged border experience on arrival in Belarus, and after a short sleep in my hostel bed, I was up and out to explore Minsk. Some cities just make a good first impression, while others take some warming up to. I liked Minsk right away. It’s not that surprising; I really enjoy all former Soviet countries and Belarus is about as close as you can get to experiencing that outside of Russia. Say what you will about the Soviets, but they knew how to design a city. Impressive and imposing architecture, lots of green spaces, public art, and excellent public transport. Minsk has all these things.

Statues near the Opera House

There was not a long list of specific sights or attractions that I planned to visit – a few, but mostly I just wanted to experience the city. I spent five days in Minsk, which is kind of long, but I loved it. (If you are travelling more quickly, two days is probably sufficient.) I did spend one day outside of Minsk, in the countryside, visiting castles, but I will write about that in a separate post – here.)

Park statues

That first day, I walked around Minsk, visiting attractive streets, looking for monuments of note, and going to an art gallery.

Various buildings along or near Independence Avenue

Belarusian National Art Gallery

The area around my hostel is a little picturesque neighbourhood next to a park and a lake, the streets cobbles and lined with pretty buildings.

Old Town views

May was a lovely month to be there. It was sunny and warm (but not hot) and flowers were blooming.

One of the main sights I wanted to see was the statue of Lenin. There is a massive one in front of the KGB building. (Yes, Belarus still has a KGB.)

Art and buildings on Independence Avenue

As in most former Soviet countries, there are a lot of impressive, orthodox cathedrals, beautiful on the outside and glittering within.

Holy Spirit Cathedral

Church of Saints Simon and Helena

Bernardine Monastery

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Minsk

Assorted Churches

Another sight I wanted to find was Lee Harvey Oswald’s residence. He famously lived in Minsk in the early 1960s after he was discharged from the Marine Corps. It took some map studying, but I found it. It is a quite a fancy building along a canal. Apparently, he was under constant surveillance by the government. I wondered how often that is still the case in Minsk.

I talked to people who had stories of locals being jailed for a time if they were found to be engaging in conversations that were overheard and found to be … improper. Once story was of a guide who leading tourists around and was asked whether most locals spoke Russian or Belarusian. The guide apparently said that the government does not want people speaking Belarusian and so most people speak Russian. An un-uniformed officer heard this and took the guide to jail where she spent a few days. When anyone spoke to me about the government or the war, I noticed that they lowered their voices.

Victory Square

I had a lot of coffee in Minsk. There were excellent cafes, and everything was very inexpensive. Some places even allowed smoking inside, which was a dream, but the weather was so lovely I mostly sat on the patios. No one batted an eye at my cigar smoking. Yet another reason I love former Soviet countries: the high percentage of smokers.

Cafe on Independence Avenue

Another key sight in Minsk is the stunning Socialist sculpture called “Solidarity” by Anatol Yafimovich Arcimovich located, oddly, above a KFC just outside of Niamiha Metro Station. The KFC is just off. Socialism and capitalism combined.

I had an early dinner at a spot recommended to me by traveler/blogger extraordinaire Ramblin’ Randy: Kamyanitsa Restaurant (Камяніца). A charming place with a traditional menu. I had borscht and potato pancakes and a shot of icy vodka. Perfect.

Kamyanitsa Restaurant

I wandered around and enjoyed the evening. There was a stage set up in a square and performances of singing and dancing soldiers for Victory Day, which was really a spectacle. (I’ll write about the Victory Day festivities in a separate post.)

I would up at a small bar: Kurilka Bar (Курилка); dark and red with cool music and air thick with smoke. I had found my spot. I went back three times while I was in Minsk. Amazing cocktails and cigar friendly.

Kuralka Bar

Minsk was wonderful. I was so happy I had a lot of time there. There were murals to see, Victory Day celebrations to partake in, subways to ride, more beautiful churches to visit, and castles in the countryside to explore.

Belarus Belarus/Dubai trip 2023 Europe

Arrival in Belarus: My Longest Border Crossing

Flag and Map of Belarus

I landed at the airport in Minsk sometime after 11:00pm. I had flown there from Vancouver via London and Dubai. Normally I would have flown through Europe, but because of the ongoing war in Ukraine and, at the time, the sanctions against Belarus by nearly every country in Europe, I had to fly via Dubai. I had spent a nice day in Dubai and was now at my final destination. On the flight to Minsk, I noticed live airplane map that our route for the direct flight between Dubai and Belarus wasn’t even direct. Because of the war, we couldn’t fly over Ukraine; we had to veer off East to fly over Russia and then back to Belarus, making the flight even longer. It had taken me over 30 hours to get there; I was tired, and I just wanted to go to my hostel.

But first, the formalities…

At the time that I went to Belarus the options for getting a visa were this: I could apply for a visa ahead of time (a lengthy and annoying process) or I could fly to Minsk and get an automatic 30-day visa on arrival. That was my plan. All that was required was some paperwork and health insurance from a Belarusian provider. (I got the health insurance online, but there is a booth right at immigration where you can buy it.) I did not anticipate there to be any problems. But border crossings are unpredictable.

I was one of the first people off the plane and in the queue to go through immigration to enter the country. A buxom, blonde woman in a military-type uniform scrutinized my passport with a magnifying glass, looking at each page carefully. I had expected this, having read blog posts from other travelers where the same thing happened. But then she called out to one of her colleagues. A young, thin man dressed in similar attire escorted me from the line. He took me back to an area near an office and asked me to sit on a bench just outside of it. He took my passport and arranged around me a little fence of stanchions and ropes to keep me in place. “This is weird.” I thought. But I wasn’t concerned.

He disappeared into the office with my passport and about 15 minutes later asked me to follow him inside. I was still not nervous at this point. I was just curious as to what was going to happen.

Inside, they proceeded to ask me questions. They asked me every conceivable question about my life and my travel plans. They asked me why and where I was going; they asked me how I had planned the trip; why I had chosen it; where I was staying; who I knew there; had I ever been to Russia before (I had); had I been to Ukraine before (I had); did I know anyone anywhere from Russia, Ukraine, or Belarus; the nature of my job; what kind of law I practised; and on and on. They wanted to look at my paper maps and at my notebook, as well as the pages I had photocopied from my Lonely Planet. I had highlighted things on the maps, and they wanted to know why.

They then sent me back out to the bench and I sat there for … I don’t even know how long. While I was sitting there, I noticed that a few other people had been pulled out of the queue as well. Three other men went into the room and were questioned briefly and then were sent on their way into Belarus. One fellow was denied entry into the country for not having some paperwork and he was told that he would have to fly back to wherever it was he came from. At this point I started to not get worried, but I did start to think of alternative plans if I was denied entry.

They then called me back in and went through my phone, where they looked at my emails, at my contacts, and at my social media profiles, which they scrolled through. They looked at my laptop and went through the same things again, as well as my browser history and some documents I had saved on my desktop.

A different person asked me nearly all the same questions again. It seems that the thing that they were most interested in was my blog. This blog. I didn’t tell them that I had a travel blog, but they saw the links to it on my social media profiles and they asked me questions about it. I’m not sure if they were able to read the posts, but they looked at a lot of them. I just explained to them it’s a hobby blog that I write about my travels. They seemed very concerned that I was a journalist.

In scrolling through my Instagram, he asked me “Why you have picture of Putin?” I thought for a second, genuinely confused, and I said, “I have a picture of Putin?” And then he showed me, and I did have a picture of Putin. It was a protest poster in Riga that I had taken a picture of the year before. I just explained that I just thought it was an interesting piece of art.

He also asked me peculiar questions like, “Do you know what March the 9th is?” I said, confused, “Tuesday?” And he said “Do you know Victory Day? And I said, “Yes! It’s the day that the Soviets defeated the Nazis in World War Two,” feeling proud of myself like I got an answer right on a history quiz. It hadn’t occurred to me that Day was occurring during my trip. I had been to Russia for Victory Day many years ago and I was delighted to discover that I was going to be in Minsk this time (and I did attend the festivities), but he wanted to know if that was a reason that I was going to Minsk at this time.

All of this might sound kind of intimidating and scary, but it really wasn’t. The men were polite, and I never felt threatened or intimidated. If it wasn’t for the fact that I was very tired, it was kind of a nice experience. Really? You want to sit down and ask me about my travels? There are two things that I love to talk about more than anything else: myself and travel. Ha. I will never stop talking.

Also, I was very polite and cooperative. As they were asking me these questions, I kept thinking about the advice that I would give a client if they’re being cross-examined in court. I would tell them to think about every question to make sure they understand the question (and if not to ask for a clarification); don’t get emotional; and don’t volunteer more information that you are being asking for. And that’s how I handled this interrogation. Those years in law school paid off.

They sent me back out to the bench a final time and I waited again. It was now past 1:30am, so I had been there for about 2 1/2 hours. Finally, they came out, gave me my passport, and sent me on my way. I went back up to the buxom blonde, who stamped my passport, and I was in Belarus.

I took a taxi to my hostel the Urban Hostel. It was very late, and I just checked in and went to bed. It was a great hostel: good location, walk-able to everything, great amenities, and very cheap. I recommend it.

Urban Hostel in Minsk

While I was obviously happy to be in Belarus, I have to say that that initial introduction did give me some pause. I had certainly heard a lot about Belarus is being kind of a Soviet throwback state with a lot of military and police oversight and possibly surveillance. And after that initial introduction, I was cautious. I didn’t tell anyone what had happened. I would be in the country for five days and I still had to leave. I had done some Googling and heard from some locals about how there can be serious consequences for seemingly very minor infractions or even conversations, so I was careful about what I talked about and to whom during my trip. (I will not go into any detail here, but you can Google these things.) I think Belarus is a perfectly safe and lovely place to travel, but an element of discretion is advisable.

Flash forward: When I left Belarus, I had no issue whatsoever. They didn’t ask me any questions; they just stamped my passport, and I was on my way back to Dubai.

I don’t know if Belarus is always this tight with its security and immigration, or if it was more so just because of the war, but it would not deter me from going back. I loved Minsk and the trip I did outside of Minsk. I would certainly go back to Belarus; I would just plan an earlier arrival.

On to the posts about Minsk…

Wandering North

Category: Belarus/Dubai trip 2023

My Perfect London Layover

The Layover

Breakfast in Hoxton

Flower Market

Spitalfields

Bypassing The Tower

Borough Market & The Tate

Lunch & Leaving London

Dubai Layover Part 2: Giving Dubai Another Try

Farewell, Minsk

Minsk: Two Churches and A Library

Minsk Metro

Castles Mir & Nesvizh: A Day Trip from Minsk

Roadtrip!

Nesvizh

Village Life

Mir

Pomp & Propaganda: Victory Day in Minsk

Minsk’s Murals

Marvelous Minsk: KGB to KFC

Arrival in Belarus: My Longest Border Crossing